SCAFFOLDING INTERNATIONAL
35
JULY-AUGUST 2013
access
INTERNATIONAL
Export mission
Qingdao Scaffolding is China’s biggest manufacturer
of scaffolding systems for the export market.
Euan Youdale spoke to the company’s managing
director and owner Jack Zhang about its plans
E
xpansion is on the horizon at Qingdao
Scaffolding Co. Ltd, as the company
looks to sell its products outside of its
main market Europe. Some 70% of its products
are currently sold in Northern Europe, where
its subsidiaries in Sweden and the Netherlands,
as well as offices in Germany and France, reflect
where the company’s main markets are. It also
has a subsidiary in Australia, another of its
major markets, but produces all its products for
the worldwide market in China.
Qingdao mainly sells QS round systems, also
known as ringlock systems in Europe, but also
produces the cuplock system. In addition, the
company is a big supplier of scaffolding tubes
and scaffolding couplers – the latter being
manufactured by the company, while the tubes
are bought in.
Unsurprisingly, the company, based in
QingDao, between Beijing and Shanghai, is
finding considerably less sales in countries like
Italy, Greece, Spain and Ireland which have
been hit hardest by the economic conditions.
Mr Zhang has been in the scaffolding
industry for 18 years, first starting the Qingdao
Metals Trading Co. Ltd, in the 1995 and
then in 2003, changing the company name to
Qingdao Scaffolding.
Qingdao now boasts a US$30 million a
year turnover, although that shrunk from
$51 million before the recession hit in 2008.
However, sales are on the upturn and Mr
Zhang expects to increase turnover to $36 -
$38 million in the next financial year.
Qingdao has also set up a new formwork
division that will concentrate on the Chinese
market.
worldwide ambition
“We are focusing on the high quality
scaffolding systems, and in China the market
share is very little, maybe 5%, they tend to use
couplers and tubes and in some southern parts
of China they use bamboo scaffolding.
“The scaffolding systems used in the UK,
like the cuplock system, or the ringlock system
in Germany, are more efficient and faster, but
the systems are more expensive.
“Even the more expensive scaffolding sold in
China is made with different material, so ours
would be double the price there because we
only use top quality steel.”
Australia is also a big market, while North
America sees less sales, with Qingdao’s
competitors, based in Southern China, taking a
higher market share there.
“There are other scaffolding companies in
China concentrating on export, but not the
same markets.There are other companies in
China focusing on the American market.
“Scaffolding systems in Europe and the
United States are not the same. We can say in
Europe more customers use ringlock systems,
but in the US more customers use steel frame
systems.”
The next market on the hit list is South
America, although this will be restricted to
sales and service offices.
“Brazil, Mexico and Argentina have great
potential, especially Brazil. At the moment we
only have customers in those three countries,
we don’t have a branch or warehouse there, but
we are trying to develop step-by-step.”
Whatever the growth level found in various
parts of the world, manufacturing in the short
term will stay in China. “We have no plans in
the next five years to manufacture outside of
China, although we will establish sales offices
and warehouses in other countries.
“During the next seven to eight years, the
labour cost and experience in China will still
mean it is competitive to manufacture there.
In alternatives like Vietnam and Cambodia,
they may have lower labour costs, but they do
not have the 15 years’ experience they have
here for, say, the cuplock system - that is very
important. But I think it may be possible to
manufacture in other countries in the future.”
Following that seven to eight year period,
however, Mr Zhang thinks there could be
some major changes as far as manufacturing
bases are concerned.
In recent years India has been a major
competitor to China for scaffolding
manufacturing, but China has taken the
advantage over the last half decade. “We are
a big competitor to India, although India
discovered scaffolding earlier than China. Now
China has overtaken and it is number one,
with India being number two in Asia.”
Europe focus
“We came to Europe much earlier than other
suppliers,” explains Mr Zhang, “You need
to follow tough certification in Europe for
scaffolding and in 2010 we spent €160000
to certify our ringlock system to European
standards in Sweden. We are the only company
in China to have this certificate.”
For scaffolding the company’s ambitions will
remain in export. “We don’t have the strategy
for scaffolding in the Chinese market, but in
October we launched the Green Formwork
system which we will sell in China.”
“In China it is a little too early for
scaffolding systems like ringlock system. It
may take seven or eight years before we sell
those in the Chinese market. But as the labour
cost gets more expensive there will be step-
by-step change.” In the future, there is growth
potential in north and South Africa, as well as
former Soviet Union countries, he says.
Talking about specific products, Mr Zhang
adds, “The ringlock system will be the biggest
scaffolding system, I think it is taking the
number one place if you consider different
countries and markets overall, but specifically
in Europe.”
AI
Jack Zhang
Green Formwork is a new formwork
system developed by Qingdao
Scaffolding
